His heart was already
full, and someone might say that’s why his was a short life. Philip Paul Bliss
died tragically with his wife in a train accident, the year after he had
written “Hallelujah! What a Savior”. Though he had not yet reached age 40,
Bliss had reached an overflowing appreciation of his destiny because of God’s
work. He could not contain it, and that’s as much a reason for the direction his
last few years of life took as any other. The song he wrote was a microcosm of
his music-making efforts and his message to hearers contained therein. Let’s
see what he was saying.
Philip Bliss had been engaged in music for the better part
of 20 years by the time he wrote “Hallelujah!..” in 1875, but his calling had
evolved in a more recent episode. He took his teaching experience that he had
developed while still a teenager and turned it toward music with the
encouragement and mentorship of others, including his wife Lucy, who recognized
his naturally gifted voice. Though he travelled and wrote many hymns to cultivate
his reputation in music during the American Civil War and postwar period, by 1874
he had chosen to use his voice not just to make beautiful sounds, but also to
spread a message. At the advice of Dwight Moody, Bliss became an evangelist,
pairing his hymns with a spoken message that resonated with his hearers. A contemporary
biographer noted that Bliss was captivated by Christ, in a way that was evident
to those who attended his addresses. His hearers, if they had travelled to hear
him at multiple sites, might have noticed his messages rang similarly. Christ.
In a word, that was it. And, not just that He existed, but that Bliss was fervent
about this God who had done so much for him. Perhaps it was the recent decision
he’d made to focus on spreading God’s truth, but Bliss seemed to have
crystallized something in his core. ‘Hallelujah’ was not confined to just one
song he wrote at the time, but was the prevailing theme of several. He was 37
years old, and seemingly was gifted to sing, write songs, and speak with a
passion that spoke volumes to audiences. How many others might Bliss have
reached, if 37 had been about the halfway point of his life?
Were the events of December 29th, 1876, which
took the lives of Philip and Lucy Bliss, fair? Would Bliss have been bitter,
knowing he died young, with a message that many more might have heard and
accepted if he hadn’t died on a train in Ashtabula, Ohio? At the time, when
Philip initially escaped the wreck but then died trying to rescue his wife,
certainly the Blisses must have felt shock. But, a stunning disappointment
doesn’t have to persist, something that they would have appreciated too. And, what
sense of fairness would any of us rightly expect in the afterlife if God hadn’t
intervened for us? This question’s answer must have dawned on Philip Bliss, and
we can sing his reaction to this decisive – in fact, divine -- turn of events.
Bliss’s voice hasn’t been stilled. And,
his isn’t the only voice. Isn’t God’s music great!
Information on the song was
obtained from the books “Amazing Grace –
366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990,
Kregel Publications; and “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About
600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc.
See this site for biography
of composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bliss
See this site for further information on the composer and
the hymn’s history: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/a/l/halwasav.htm
See following for memoirs of the composer:
http://www.biblebelievers.com/bliss/mem_ch6.html
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